Untitled RoyAi Story
by Raven Blakh
Summary: Riza Hawkeye is mistaken for a crime she didn't commit, and has to start a new life. But when an old friend appears out of the blue, how will she react, and will she be forgiven by the one she loves? RoyAi
1. Chapter 1: Late Night Customer

Click.

Havoc snapped the silver identification bracelet from her hand, and dropped it next to the skeleton that lay silently slumped against a wall. He grabbed her hand, and, to her surprise, pushed her into the bin. She landed with a thump, and rubbed her eyes. As she opened the, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her- Edward. He put out his hand, and she took it, smiling. She turned her head and nodded to Lieutenant Havoc.

"Thank you,"

He smiled, and waved her on, looking around him to check that no-one was around. She turned her head back to face Ed, and followed him through a small opening in the bin, along a cold, narrow tunnel.

"Where are we going, Ed?"

"Somewhere where you can be safe,"

They both crawled along the tunnel silently for what seemed like only a few minutes, until they reached an opening at the end, light shining through it, blocking their vision temporarily. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness so the light came as a shock to their eyes.

Ed crawled forward and jumped down, and she followed soon after. Her feet landed on a cold, hard pavement, and she brushed herself down quickly, and looked up to see Ed talking to a old, bearded man who was mounted on a brown horse. The man had hazel, caring eyes. She walked over to Ed and the man, and they both turned to face her. Ed whispered something in the man's ear, and he nodded, looking at her. He leant forward to shake Ed's hand, then he put his hand out in front of her, and she shook it. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, and hoisted her up onto the horse so she was sat behind him.

"Ed, I can't thank you enough for this," she whispered, giving Ed and apologetic look.

"Not a problem, anything to help a friend,"

"So, you're not going to tell Roy about this then?"

Ed nodded glumly. "Its safer that he doesn't know, for your safety and his. If he knew…"

"…He might come looking for me, believing that I killed Hughes," she finished sadly. Ed looked up at her sadly, and shook her hand.

"I'm sorry, that's just the way it has to be," Ed smiled, and waved as the man lightly kicked his heels into the horse's side to get it moving.

Ed sighed, and when the horse was out of sight, slowly walked away.

"Good luck…Lieutenant Hawkeye…"

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Riza jolted up in her bed, and looked at her surroundings. She was in a small box room, with pale blue walls. The only possessions in the room were the bed in which she was sitting, and some boxes piled up, with clothes carelessly flung over them. She sighed, and put her hand to her forehead, which was hot and sweaty. She breathed another long sigh, and looked down at her watch. 6 Am. Time to get up. She pulled the covers from the bed, and jumped out.

Just a dream. That's all…

Riza walked over to boxes, and picked up a pile of ready-prepared clothes from the top of one of the boxes. She opened the door, and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for what was going to be another difficult day…

"Good morning, Elizabeth, I see you're up bright and early, as usual!"

Riza laughed, and smiled at the man. He was small in stature, with messy brown hair and deep blue eyes. He was in his late fifties, and it showed. But although getting old, the man's face showed youthful enthusiasm.

"Good morning Henry, how did you sleep?" asked Riza politely, tying a apron behind her back.

"Very well, thank you for asking, Elizabeth, haven't had that much of a good night's sleep in a long time," the man chuckled heartily.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have a favour to ask of you,"

"Oh?" Riza looked up.

"I have some errands to run today, business and what not. It will mean that I'm going to be out of town for a good few days, possibly a week or so, and I need someone to look after the shop while I'm gone. You've been helping me out for almost two years now, and I know you're responsible enough to look after it for a while, so if its not too much of a burden…"

Riza put her hand on the old man's shoulder, and smiled at him warmly. "It's fine, I'd be happy to,"

The old man smiled back gratefully. "You're sure you can handle the shop for a week all by yourself?"

Riza nodded, and patted his shoulder, and continued tying her apron. "I should be fine, if I have any problems I'll just call for some help from Beatrice across the road if need be, but I'm sure I can manage,"

"Thank you so much Elizabeth, it means a lot to me!" the man laughed happily. "I'll be leaving in about an hour, and I should be back by next Tuesday, but if I'm going to be any later, I'll make sure to give you a call or a telegram. I'm so sorry for the short notice…"

"Its fine Henry, I owe you so much already for taking me in all this time, its my duty to pay you back. Well, I'd better leave you to get ready then, and I'm sure there'll be customers waiting…" Riza stretched her arms in front of her, and turned to walk into the front of the shop.

Riza rested her head in her arms, and closed her eyes. Henry had left about six hours ago, and there had been little activity in the store today. The only customers had been Mrs Edmond who wanted some medicine for her son who had the flu, and George and Ella, the elderly couple who came in everyday to buy their lunch, although Riza was sure sometimes they came in just to chat to her.

It had been two years since that day. Two years since Havoc and Ed had broken her out of the prison cell which she'd been kept as a wrongful prisoner in, and sent her away to the small town of Ardery, days away from Central. The journey on horse with her escort had taken five days, but on some occasions they'd stopped to get food in local towns. The whole time Riza had to wear her hair down, and she always had to wear a dusty brown coat, so no one would recognise her.

When Havoc and Ed had broken her out, they put some old prison clothes on a skeleton and Ed used his alchemy to make it look like it had been Riza's body, and that she'd been laying dead for weeks. Ed and Havoc spread a false rumour that Riza had tried to escape and had been captured and killed by Scar. The plan worked, and Riza escaped successfully, avoiding her execution, which had been due to take place the next day.

The murder of Hughes's had shocked everyone in the Military, and even more shocking were the claims that Riza had been the killer. Ed came up with the theory that Envy, the shape shifting Homunculus was the culprit, but the Fuhrer took Riza away to a prison cell anyway, and she was sentenced to death.

All of her Military comrades had been present at her trial, including Colonel Mustang- the Flame Alchemist. Roy. Riza smiled sadly. That had been the last time she'd seen her superior officer, her last glance of him was when the bodyguards dragged her away as she kicked and screamed, shouting that the trail was unfair and there was no evidence. As she was pulled away, she turned one last time to see Roy looking at her sadly, his face a mix of emotions. Sadness. Helplessness. Anger. Riza wasn't sure if the anger was because her trial was unfair, or whether he believed that she'd killed Lieutenant Hughes, his best friend.

After the trial, Ed had told her Military comrades about his Homunculus theory, and they agree to help him. But Roy wasn't told. Ed had told her that it was best he didn't know that she was still alive, that he didn't know of her whereabouts, incase he blamed her. Riza agreed to the terms, she didn't want Roy to get hurt. If he did believe her story, and knew she was alive, he could be at risk from the people who wanted her dead. So her comrades promised to keep their mouths shut.

Fuery had promised to take care of Black Hayate for her. Riza sighed sadly. God, did she miss that dog. She missed his company, but was grateful to Fuery, knowing that the dog was now in good hands.

But the thing that bothered her the most, the thing that had stuck in her mind all these years, was her Colonel. What did he think of her? Did he truly believe that she had killed Hughes, that she had murdered his best friend? He hadn't said a word at the court trial, the whole time he remained silent, staring at the floor. When it was announced that she was to be put to death, Roy looked up, and she was dragged away.

Riza prayed that he didn't hate her, that his heart wasn't so full of rage that he was blinded from the truth. Part of her had hope in him; part of her believed that he would never believe that it was her. But then part of her worried that he hated her because of it. That was the part that kept her awake at night, and gave her nightmares when she slept. Ever since the escape, she'd dreamt of that fateful day.

Henry, the owner of the shop she worked in, had welcomed her with open arms. He knew that she was on the run from the Military as she had been falsely accused of a crime, but he didn't know what. Riza was incredibly grateful to him, and to pay back for him looking after her and letting her stay in his house and eat his food, she worked in his shop 5 times a week, and on weekends too if he needed the extra help.

Riza's eyes snapped open suddenly at the sound of thunder outside. She'd fallen asleep, how long had she been asleep? Riza glanced down at her watch lazily, and jolted upwards when she saw the time. 11pm! That late already? Riza prayed that no-one had come into the shop to buy anything whilst she'd been asleep. The store was supposed to have closed two hours ago! Riza leapt out of her chair, and looked along the aisles to see if anyone was in the shop. It was empty. Riza sighed, and slowly walked over to the door. She turned the sign on the door to closed, and made her way back to the till. She slouched down onto the chair, and put her head in her hands, looking out of the window at the pouring rain, and the crashing thunder.

Riza smiled, remembering how Roy had hated the rain, and fell asleep on the till again, this time dreaming peacefully of a time when she was happy, and not on the run….

"Excuse me?"

Riza awoke at the sound of a voice, and rubbed her eyes. She'd only been asleep for about half an hour this time. What time was it? Riza looked at her watch, she was right, half eleven. What was a customer doing in the shop at this time of night, the sign said closed.

"Sorry to wake you, can I have a pack of forty please?"

Riza pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear, and sat up, stil half asleep.  
Hmmm….she didn't recognise the voice as someone local, it must be a tourist. But Riza could have sworn she'd heard that voice before…

"Sorry, we're closed right now…."

Riza looked up at the customer, and stopped mid-sentence as she saw a painfully familiar face staring back at her. His jet black hair was wet and sparkling from the downpour outside, and his familiar blue uniform was drenched too.

Riza's eyes widened, and she slowly stood up, still in shock.

"I've finally found you….Riza…." smiled a soaking wet Roy Mustang.


	2. Chapter 2: Changes

Was she dreaming? This couldn't be happening to her, not here not now…this…it couldn't be….

"R…Roy?" Riza stammered shakily, her hands quivering. Was it really him? It couldn't be an impostor, it was definitely him. For starters, he had the same shiny jet black hair, although it was a little longer since she'd last seen him- well, it had been a long time since she'd last seen him. His piercing yet soothing black eyes stared at Riza, and he was smiling….or so Riza thought. She couldn't tell whether his smile was from happiness…or revenge…

Roy had one of those un-judgeable faces, you couldn't always tell his thoughts. Even those closest to him couldn't always tell just what was going on in this mind of his. Riza was usually best at judging his moods; after all, she'd spent most of her life following him. But this time….well, she just couldn't tell. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen him in so long; maybe she'd lost her touch.

She suddenly realised that they'd been standing in silence for what must have been at least five minutes. Riza snapped back into reality, and looked deeply into Roy's eyes.

"You're not wearing your ignition gloves,"

"Huh?" Roy looked at Riza, confused at her remark.

"So, you have a gun instead. How cruel, you plan to end it with my chosen weapon…" Riza sighed, and stepped closer. "Well go on, get on with it. I'd rather you killed me now and got it over with, but please, clear up the mess afterwards, I don't want to be a burden to the shop owner when he comes back, he's an old man and…."

Roy stepped back suddenly, and shook his hands in front of Riza's face. "What are you talking about? You think I'm going to kill you? Why would I want to kill you?"

"Because I supposedly killed your best friend, why else?" Riza replied.

Roy looked over at Riza suddenly "And did you?" he whispered.

Riza sighed, and looked him in the eye. She looked at him for a moment, then replied. "No." She carefully untied her apron, and hung it on a nearby shelf. She made her way over to the door, and turned the key twice, locking it. Riza turned to Roy suddenly, then began to walk towards the door to the house at the back of the shop. She stopped at the door, realising that Roy wasn't following her, but was still staring at her.

"I get the feeling that this is going to be a long night, sir. And you need some dry clothes," she motioned for him to follow, and he did.

They stepped into a short hallway, and Riza motioned for Roy to stay there for a moment, while she quickly entered a near by room.

"Hmm….." Riza mumbled, flicking quickly through a wardrobe of clothes. She prayed that there was something to fit Roy; she didn't want him catching pneumonia under her care. She pulled out a pale blue shirt, and a pair of plain black trousers. These would have to do….

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"You'll have to wear these for now I'm afraid sir, its all we have. They might be a bit big, but they'll have to do. It's better than catching a cold." Riza held up the shirt, later followed by the trousers.

Roy smiled, and took the clothes from her hands. "These will do fine,"

Riza smiled "You know, I never expected you to pop up at this time, I'm sorry sir, it really was un-expected, if I'd known I would have made pre-" Riza looked over to Roy and stopped talking immediately when she realised that he'd removed his jacket and shirt and was beginning to change into the clothes in the hall infront of her.

"Aggghhh, sir! Get changed in here!" Riza pushed a confused Roy into a room, and slammed the door behind him. When the door was closed, Riza rested her back against the door and sighed. She was blushing a deep crimson, and was hot all over. What was he thinking, he didn't even realise I blushed though…..so embarrassing…

Riza quickly made her way to the bathroom, and splashed some water on her face, then looked up at the mirror in front of her. She looked at her face closely, for the first time realising how much she had changed over the past few years. Her hair was a fair bit longer, and most of the time she wore it down because it made her less recognisable. She wore make up quite a lot too because it also made her look very different. She didn't want any Military personnel to ever come into the area and recognise her, she couldn't risk that.

Riza turned her head to the shout of 'I'm done!' and left the bathroom quickly, returning to the hall. What she saw shocked her. Riza had never seen her (ex) superior officer out of his Military clothes; he even went to dates in them because he didn't get the chance to change. It was a shock to her, he looked so different…

"What do you think?" asked Roy, smirking. He spun round, and ruffled his hair. Riza laughed and shook her head.

"You haven't changed a bit sir…." Roy laughed, and Riza beckoned him to follow her into the living room. She sat down on a small dusty blue sofa, which was worn after years of use. Roy sat himself down opposite her in a matching armchair opposite the sofa.

Roy lay back on the chair lazily, stretched his arms above his head, and yawned.

"So…how did you find me? Did Havoc tell you? Edward?"

Roy chuckled, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice at the mention of Ed. "That Fullmetal shrimp wouldn't tell me a thing. Neither Havoc, everyone kept their mouth's shut. You told them to keep quiet didn't you?"

Riza shook her head. "It was Ed's idea. But if he hadn't suggested it then I would have anyway, it was for the best…"

"But it didn't quite work, did it now Hawkeye?" Roy smirked, then smiled at her.

Riza looked at Roy, then shifted her glance to the floor, avoiding his gaze. "You know…you needn't call me Hawkeye anymore sir, I'm Elizabeth Hemron now…"

"In that case, you should stop calling me sir," Riza looked up, she'd been caught out.

"I can still call you sir. You can't call me Hawkeye because it'll blow my cover if someone comes in,"

"And that's likely, is it? You locked the door; no-one's going to come in, especially at this time of night,"

"Well, you did, didn't you?"

Roy stuttered, defeated. "Well….I…dammit Hawkeye, you always…"

Riza put her finger up to silence him, and tutted. "Elizabeth,"

"Fine Elizabeth…." Roy paused for a moment, then came up with a comeback. "Wait, you're a good friend to me, I might as well call you Riza as we're so close…"

"Fine, if you must…"

"Ah! But see, that means you have to call me Roy. No 'sir' or 'Colonel' or 'Mustang'."

Riza sighed, and looked up at Roy angrily, who was grinning cheekily. He'd won.

"Fine……"

Roy nodded her to carry on.

She sighed.

"…..Roy,"

Roy burst out laughing, and Riza couldn't help but giggle after their silly argument. "Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot, do you want a drink?" Riza stood up quickly, and walked over to a cupboard, and opened it, running her finger along the different drinks she had to offer Roy. 

"I've only got Vodka, tonic water, and orange juice," Riza called out, laughing. She knew what Roy would pick. And it wouldn't be the orange juice.

"Oh, I'll have a Vodka if you don't mind," Roy called back.

Riza laughed. "How did I know you were going to pick that?" She brought out two bottles, and put them on the table separating the sofa and the armchair.

"Woah…." Roy leap forward, and looked up at Riza in shock. "You're…having one?...You…." Roy pointed at Riza, then pointed at the drink, confused. Riza nodded, and smiled. 

"I might as well, it's a special occasion. And its not like I get drunk that easy…" She looked up at Roy sternly. "So don't get any ideas,"

Roy laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his head. "Now why would you going assuming that about me Riza…aha…aha….a…ha…." Roy's voice faded off after realising that Riza's face was still serious. But the corners of Riza's lips slowly and hesitantly lifted, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That look on your face was priceless!" she laughed and Roy burst out laughing too after the sudden outburst. He wasn't used to is (ex) First Lieutenant being so…laid back. Usually Riza was strict, calm and collected. Roy stopped laughing, and leaned forward, and his eyes focused on Riza. She was definitely….different. He'd never seen her with her hair down before, not even at the Military Ball (which she rarely went to- or stayed at for too long- anyway.) Roy couldn't be sure, but she seemed a little taller to him. Maybe he just hadn't grown, or maybe it was just that he hadn't seen her in a long time. But her eyes- they were still the same. Those soft hazel abysses that he loved so much, Roy could stare into them forever. Riza realised that he was staring at her, and shifted her glance quickly to the floor. It wasn't that looking at him made her feel uncomfortable; it was just…too strange for Riza to comprehend. She could stare at him all day, but he would surely notice. And there was nothing between them, no matter how much Riza wished that there was. 

"You've really changed, Riza," Roy whispered, not taking his eyes off her.

"Hm?" Riza looked up suddenly, realising that Roy was talking to her. She blushed a little when she realised that Roy still had his eyes locked on her.

"You never used to be this…" Roy paused for a moment, trying to think of a word, "…Carefree…when we used to work together,"

"Oh. I couldn't be this carefree when I had you to baby-sit all the time. Someone had to keep you in line.."

"And you did a good job of it too," Roy interrupted, smiling at her. He looked down at his hands, which were rested neatly on his lap. He sat quietly for a moment, just looking at his rough, yet gentle hands, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't put it in words.

"Why are you here, Roy?"

Roy looked up suddenly at Riza's odd remark. "That was a bit out of place,"

"I just want to know Roy. You're not here to kill me. Unless you do really plan to kill me later when I'm more relaxed because you want to catch me off guard and make me suffer,"

"You know I would never do that,"

"I know," Riza agreed. "It's not how you work. If you wanted revenge, you would have killed me a long time ago," Roy nodded, and waited for her to continue. "And you never told me earlier how you found me…"

"It took forever. You did a good job of covering your tracks. I didn't realise it was you earlier today; I thought my sources were wrong again and I'd got the wrong woman. And I came in to buy some cigarettes and there you were,"

Riza chuckled. "Since when did you start smoking anyway? I thought you hated the smell," Riza remembered back to when Roy would always complain about Havoc lighting one up in the office.

"I started when all of this happened, can you blame me? Riza… I'm so sorry I didn't say anything at the trial. I was just too….shocked. It didn't feel real. I was praying that it was some horrible nightmare that I would wake up from. And I couldn't wake up from it; it was all true. It didn't strike me that I was going to lose you until they announced that you were to be hung. I'd spent the whole trial in silence; I was too scared to say anything, because I knew I'd fail you even more than I already had, and it would just make things worse. I just couldn't understand why everything that I love…" Roy hesitated for a moment, then continued "…was being taken from me. Of course, I realise now that the one who killed Hughes was a Homunculus, but at the time I was just so confused and scared I just didn't know what to do or what to think." Riza nodded, and waited for him to finish. "I see why they did it now, kill two birds with one stone. Bring down the Flame Alchemist from the inside. They took away the two things…I care about the most…." Roy looked at his hands again sadly, and Riza took this as a sign that he didn't want to carry on. She leant forward, and took a small sip of her drink. She wanted to know why Roy had come, but she felt that tonight wasn't the time to ask. 

Riza yawned, and slowly stood up. "Well, I think we should probably get some rest now, I have to open the shop at seven and I want to be up on time…"

"Oh, right," Roy took the hint, and stood up. "Riza, do you know any good hotels that are open this time of night?"

Riza groaned. "Sir…I mean…Roy" Roy grinned. "You can't stay in a hotel, stay here, I'm sure Henry won't mind you staying, especially as he's not here…."

"No, its fine, I can't burden you when you've got a shop to run…"

"Roy, I can't let you stay in a hotel…"

"Really, its fine…"

"Roy, I order you to stay here,"

"And since when did you give me orders?"

"I'm not in the military anymore; I can do what I like. And at the moment you are in a shop under my management so I say you stay here for the night,"

Roy rolled his eyes dramatically, and folded his arms. "I guess I could stay just this once….but you know…I might find it hard being in a house with a beautiful woman all night and not…"

"Don't even try it, your tricks won't work on me Roy," Riza laughed cheekily, and smirked at him. He frowned sadly, then sighed.

"You can stay in Henry's room, unless you want to stay in mine, it's a little smaller…"

"Will you be in there with me?"

"No," Riza stated simply.

"I'll stay in the other room then…." Roy pretended to sulk, then turned round and shot Riza a devilish grin. She smiled back serenely, and Roy's eyes softened a little.   
He headed towards to what he presumed was Henry's room, and turned around to face Riza.

"I'll help you out with the shop tomorrow if that's okay,"

"Really?" Riza's eyes lit up, the thought of spending the whole day with Roy made her feel happy- especially as it meant that she would have less work to do the next day.

"Roy noticed Riza's eyes widen and the smile that appeared on her face when he offered to help and it made him smile back. "Yeah. What time do I have to be up?"

"Are you sure? If it's not too much trouble…"

"No, it's fine. You've helped me out so many times its about time I helped you,"

"Thank you, Roy," Riza's voice softened, and she shot him a quick but worthwhile smile. Roy felt like his heart was going to burst.

"Make sure you're up by six, and I'll make you breakfast then we can open up, is that okay?" Roy nodded. Riza smiled again, and opened the door to her room, the turned to face Roy again.

"Goodnight….Roy," She smiled, then retreated to her room, quietly closing the door behind her. Roy stood in silence for a moment, looking at the closed door to her room. He sighed, and shook his head, then entered his own room, looking forward to tomorrow and the events to come….


	3. Chapter 3: Too Close

Roy awoke to a soft knocking noise. He slowly and drowsily sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Roy?" came a whisper from the other side of the door.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm awake," he replied sleepily.

The door slowly opened, revealing an already-dressed Riza. She was wearing a plain black skirt which reached just above her knees, and a dark blue sweater. On top of it she was wearing her usual blue apron, and had her hair tied up neatly in a bun. Despite being fully dressed for work, she was still in her slippers, and Roy could tell from her face that she was low on sleep.

"You didn't sleep much, I take it?" he asked politely chuckling.

Riza yawned and nodded. "How did you guess?" she asked in monotone.

"Your face. And to be honest with you I didn't sleep much either….you have to admit, it is a bit hard to sleep with all of this happening," Riza nodded, and walked further into the room so she was not very far from Roy, who was still sitting in the bed.

Riza looked Roy in the eye seriously. "Did I wake you?" she asked quietly. "I'm sorry if I did. I didn't want to come in incase you were asleep so I knocked…" her voice drifted off when she realised that Roy was standing next to her, and his hand gently brushed down the side of her face and through a single strand of hair that was hanging down. 

"You know…." He whispered in her ear. "I think you should have your hair down like you did yesterday more often…." Roy slowly unclipped the clip holding her bun in place, and walked out of the room silently, into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Riza stood silently for a moment, her hair hanging over her shoulders delicately. She snapped back into reality suddenly, and shook her head, regaining her composure. She turned around, and walked into the kitchen.

Riza stood over the stove, stirring the wooden spoon round and round in the pot in front of her. She'd put her hair back up again, but this time in a ponytail. She tasted a spoonful of the stew, sniffed it, and reached over to the cupboard to add a sprinkle more of pepper. As she placed the pepper pot back down on the side, she felt a warm hand grasp hers, and stop her from putting it back on the spoon. She jumped a little, and turned around to see Roy standing behind her, holding her hand in his. She blushed a little, and quickly tried pulling her hand out of his, but to no prevail.

"I need….I need to finish cooking the stew…." She turned around suddenly, and Roy let go of his grasp on her hand. She continued stirring the liquid, and they both remained silent for a moment.

Roy coughed, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" Riza turned around and looked at Roy, waiting.

"You put your hair back up." He stated simply.

"Yes." She replied, turning back around. "I didn't want to get it in the stew."

"Really?"

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder turn her around, and another warm hand pull out her hair tie. Roy backed away quickly as Riza's golden locks floated down. 

"Hey! You…" She lunged at him suddenly, reaching for the hair tie, but Roy pulled his hand away at the last minute, grabbing Riza by the arm. He grinned cheekily.

"If you want it back, you'll have to get it back off me!" he laughed, and pelted off into the hallway.

Riza groaned angrily, and walked briskly into the hall after him. When she got there it was empty. 

"Roy!" she screeched angrily, stomping over to the first door in front of her, opening it, then realising it was empty, slamming it closed again. "You get out here NOW!"

"Try and make me!" came the reply, but she couldn't hear which room it had come from. Groaning loudly again, she stomped up to each door, opening it, then closing it again. When she reached the final door, the room that Roy had been staying in, she stopped for a moment, then slowly opened the door. Inside, Roy was sitting cross legged on the bed, dangling the hair tie in his hand.

Riza growled, and lunged for him, but Roy dodged her, and she fell onto the bed beside him.

"You!" she screamed, lunging at him again, this time grabbing his arm, pulling him closer to her.

"Oh no you don't!" he cried. They wrestled for a while, yelling and screaming at each other playfully. Eventually the shouting turned to laughter, and Roy managed to hold Riza's arms down, but she kicked at him, so he held her legs down by placing one of his legs over hers. They fell silent for a moment, realising what an awkward position they were in. Roy leant closer until his face was just centimetres away from hers.

"Looks like I've won this one then," he smirked at Riza playfully, not letting go of her hands. 

"In your dreams, Roy," she grinned menacingly, holding in her laughter. She tried to get free, but Roy was stronger than her. 

"I think you're mistaken. Looks like you can't get out of this one, Riza…" he smiled, and moved his face closer to hers, their lips almost touching.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and they both jumped up just in time to notice the dark grey smoke entering the room.

"Oh God! The stew!" Riza gasped. They both leapt up, and ran for the kitchen.

Riza managed to clear up the little mess, but the stew was ruined.

"Thank god….that was close…" She sighed, wiping up the spilled stew from the stove.

"Looks like we're skipping breakfast then…" Roy chuckled lightly. He glanced down at his watch, and looked up again. "Its seven o'clock, do you want me to go and open up for you?"

"Oh, no, its okay I'll do it…" Riza muttered, quickly whisking herself out of the room, leaving Roy alone in the kitchen.

As she headed into the front of the shop, she mentally scolded herself for letting Roy so close to her. She would have to be more careful next time; she couldn't let anything happen between them….but who ever said there would be a next time? Riza half hoped that they wouldn't be in such a situation again, yet, there was another part of her that looked forward to it and hoped that something like that could happen between them once more. She sighed, and unlocked the door.

Roy stood silently in the kitchen, pacing backwards and forwards across the room. He'd been so close…he couldn't do that again, Riza probably felt uncomfortable with it. It wasn't like he'd done it on purpose, it had just…happened. In the heat of the moment. He hadn't been thinking….he couldn't let it happen again. Roy took a long, sad sigh, and made his way into the front of the shop, trying to keep his mind off of what could have been…


	4. Chapter 4: A Phonecall

"Good morning, Elizabeth!"

"Oh, good morning, Mrs Carlyle! How are you feeling today?"

"Oh, I'm feeling good thank you dear, oh, and who is this young man?"

Roy looked up suddenly, and looked over to the woman talking to Riza. He put his hand out, and the old woman shook it. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Roy…Ford. I'm a friend of Ri…Elizabeth's. I just came down to visit for a few days."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" she shook his hand cheerily.

Roy flashed her a friendly grin, "Likewise,"

"It's a good job he turned up now, don't you think Elizabeth? You get some extra help around the shop! Rather than being on your own for the rest of the week,"

"Oh yes!" agreed Riza, "It is a big help, I could use the extra hand. Oh, do you want your usual's, Mrs Carlyle?" she asked politely.

"Yes please," Riza turned to Roy, and asked him to fetch some things off the shelves for her. He walked off over to the aisles to fetch the things Riza had asked for. Riza turned around and picked up some items off of the shelf behind her.

"So…" the woman lowered her voice, and giggled. "Are you going out with this young man then, Elizabeth?"

Riza spun round, and felt herself flush a deep crimson. "Oh! No! He' just a good friend of mine! I've known him for about eleven years; we're just friends, that's all!"

The old lady chuckled to herself, knowing that Riza was doing a bad job of hiding that she was lying. She decided not to continue it any further, as it seemed to be bothering her. "Okay, okay, if you say so dear,"

Roy returned with a handful of objects, and he put them in a brown paper bag, along with the things Riza had taken from the shelf. Roy handed the old lady the bag, and in return she handed him a note and some coins. He passed it over to Riza, who put them in the box under the till, then gave the lady back a couple of coins.

"Thank you again, Elizabeth, and you too Roy, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'll see you next week!" she smiled, waved, and walked out of the shop door, the bell ringing as she went.

Riza collapsed on the chair in front of her, and sighed to herself. She slumped down onto the till, and put her head in her arms.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Roy, leaning down. Riza nodded. "Did something happen while I was getting the groceries?" She shook her head.

"I'm just tired out that's all. Don't worry…" her voice was cut off as Roy lifted her chin up so she was facing him. He looked at her, a serious look on his face.

"Riza. If there is something wrong, I want you to know I'm here for you. Okay?" She looked away, but he turned her head back to face him. She nodded. "Good." He let go of her slowly, and sat down on the chair next to her. "How many people do you get coming in here everyday then?" he asked curiously, looking at the contents of the drawer under the till. 

"Not that many. It's a small town, so we usually get about five people or so everyday. We occasionally get tourists and passers by, but it's usually just the regulars like Mrs Carlyle." She sat up in her seat slowly, and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know…" said Roy, leaning closer to her. "We never did finish that fight we had earlier. I never said you could tie your hair back up…" he grinned at her cheekily. She sighed, and untied her hair, letting it fall down to her shoulders. 

"Happy now?" she asked sarcastically. Roy nodded silently, a little disappointed that she was back to her sarcastic self. And he'd really been looking forward to having another fight like he had earlier…

They continued running the shop for the rest of the day, although they only had a few more customers, they still; had to maintain the shop itself. The day passed by, and night fell. Riza and Roy were both sat on their chairs by the till, sitting silently.

Suddenly, the sound of a ringing phone could be heard at the other end of the shop.

"I'll get it," Riza stood up suddenly, and made her way over to the ringing phone. 

"Hello? Elizabeth Hawkeye speaking how may I…" her voice drifted off suddenly. Roy looked up, and noticed the look of concern on Riza's face. She nodded silently, then took the phone away from her ear. "Roy," she whispered, covering the phone with her hand. "It's….Havoc…"

Roy leapt up from his seat. How had Havoc known he was…how had he found out where he…

Roy took the phone from Riza's hand, and she moved away from him.

"Hello?"

"Colonel, its Havoc,"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. Lucky guess. I figured you'd found her so I-"

"What do you want? This'd better be important…"

"It is. Sir, is this line secure?"

"Yes." Roy nodded.

"Well, we've received orders from Fuhrer Bradley…" Roy heard Havoc gulp down the other end of the line. "He's found out that Lieutenant Hawkeye isn't dead. I don't know how, everyone has kept their mouths shut. But he knows. And he's told everyone that you were involved in it. We've been ordered to track the two of you down and…." There was a pause. "…kill you both on sight,"

Roy gasped, and looked over at Riza. "Wait a moment," Roy put the phone up to his hand, and looked at Riza with a concerned look on his face. "Riza. Go and pack some stuff. We're leaving. NOW."

"Wha…Roy, what's going-"

"Just pack some stuff now, we need to get away!" he shouted, waving at Riza. She nodded, and ran off towards her room. Roy put the phone back to his ear. "We're leaving now."

"Roy, we've been talking to the Elric brothers, and Ed believes that the Fuhrer may be a Homunculus…"  
"What?" shouted Roy, tightening his grip on the phone.

"I know this sounds crazy, but it would explain all of this," he stated. "Look, if Ed's right, then he'll probably send the Homunculi after you too. You two need to get out now, don't tell anyone, don't leave any notes. Just get out of there NOW. We don't know how near the Homunculi are or if they've left yet, but you need to hide away. And don't stay in the same place, move around every few days."

Roy nodded to himself. "Understood."

"I doubt I'll talk to you again, Colonel. So good luck. From all of us,"

"Good luck, Havoc. I appreciate the help," There was a click from the other end of the line, and Roy put down the phone.

Riza entered the room suddenly, with a backpack hoisted on her shoulder. "I packed you some things too,"

"Okay, let's get going then,"

"But what about the shop? I can't just…"

"We haven't got a choice. We're not allowed to leave any notes or anything. Just put the closed sign up, and then we'll go. I'll explain on the way,"

Riza looked at Roy worriedly, then nodded seriously, and put the closed sign up. She reached under the desk, and hesitantly took a heap of money from the money pit. "I'm sorry," she whispered to herself guiltily.

They closed the shop door, and made their way down the long path away from the shop and out of the village quickly, trying to hide away from anyone who might see them. They ran down to the train station, it wasn't a long journey from the shop, so they'd gotten there just in time to get the last train of the night. They hurried onto the train, and both nearly tumbled to the floor as it started moving suddenly.

Roy collapsed on the nearest seat in exhaustion, and was joined by Riza a few moments later.

"That….was….lucky….." he panted, his chest quickly moving up and down with every breath he took. Riza sighed, and wiped her forehead, leaning back on the seat. She looked around; the carriage was completely empty apart from them. She turned back to face Roy, and looked at him seriously.

"Now, can you at least tell me why we're running?"

Roy told her about the Homunculus threat, and how they were both in danger. Riza nodded her understanding, and remained silent for a while, lost in her own thoughts. How had the Fuhrer found out about her still being alive? Unless there was a leak, which she doubted, there was no possible way for the Fuhrer to find out…was there? Well, with the Homunculi on his side, who knew what he could do with that kind of power? And if he was a Homunculi himself….Riza shuddered at the thought.

"You okay?" asked Roy, and Riza snapped out of her daydream.

"Yes, I'm fine," She shot him a feeble smile.

"You're not are you?"

"Can you blame me? I was doing so well, I was having a normal life again, when this happens. I'll never be able to go back to a normal life again, will I?" she sighed, and shook her head.

"It wasn't a normal life to start with, Riza. Come on, part of you must have known that this wasn't going to last forever…" Roy looked at her hopefully, then let out a deep sigh. "This is my fault…"

"What are you talking about? How is it your fault?"

"Well, maybe if I hadn't gone looking for you, this might not have happened. If I'd just lived with it, and not put you in danger…" Roy felt a warm hand on his, and looked up to see that Riza had gently placed her hand on his.

"It's not your fault, Roy. And I don't blame you for this one bit, so don't blame yourself for it. Okay?" she murmured softly. Roy smiled sadly, and took her hand in his.

"Okay?" she asked, smiling.

"Okay," he smiled back at her. Riza could tell from his smile that he was serious.

Roy yawned suddenly. "I guess we'd better get some sleep, I'm guessing we're not going to get much of it for a long time.."

Riza nodded tiredly, and started to loosen her hand from his, when he gripped it tighter to stop her.

"Roy? Er…my hand?" she whispered. 

Roy looked at her, then chuckled a little to himself.

"Let me just…hold your hand for a while…while I sleep. I just want to know that you're there…" he rubbed her hand gently. "I won't rest if I don't know that you're safe," 

Riza blushed, and nodded, squeezing his hand tightly. He smiled at her, then closed his eyes slowly. Soon after, he was fast asleep. Riza watched him laying peacefully, his breathing was low and quiet. Riza leant a little closer to him, and brushed a loose strand of hair away from his face. He smiled to himself, but his eyes remained closed, he was still fast asleep.

Riza leant back on her chair, and closed her eyes, Roy's hand still clinging to hers.


	5. Chapter 5: Waiting For A Cab

The train rolled along slowly, jolting every so often as it went. They had been on it for a good few hours now, and both Riza and Roy had remained silent ever since leaving. Roy laid back on a chair next to Riza, his eyes closed, his arms folded across his chest, and his legs stretched across onto the chair in front of him in a lazy manner. Riza wasn't sure if he was asleep or just resting, so she didn't say anything. She was sitting with her hands rested neatly on her lap next to Roy, and unlike his, her legs were placed firmly on the floor or the train. She glanced out of the window longingly, wishing that she wasn't in this terrible situation.

She had tried to sleep herself, but she couldn't, there was so much on her mind right now. Roy had let go of her hand in his sleep, she wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but she decided not to take his hand again, in fear of waking him, if he truly was asleep.

Everything had been going so well for her, she'd been in hiding for almost two years now, and nothing had ever happened until then…so why now? How had she been discovered? Did someone report her? Her old colleagues perhaps? Of course they wouldn't. Riza didn't have a doubt in her mind that her ex colleagues would turn her in. Unless they were forced….Riza sighed sadly, and rested her elbow on the window ledge, and leaning her head on her hand, gazed out of the clear glass solemnly.

"You okay?"

Riza turned her head to see Roy sitting on the chair next to her, eyes open. However, his legs were still on the chair, and his arms were still folded. He looked at her, a concerned look reflected in his onyx black eyes. She nodded. "Were you sleeping?" she asked quietly, adjusting her position slightly out of discomfort. "Did I wake you?"

Roy shook his head. "You didn't wake me, don't worry. Are you sure you're okay?" Roy's tone dropped, and he looked into Riza's eyes apologetically. "I'm sorry Riza, I never meant for any of this to happen, it's all my…"

"It's not your fault, if that's what you were going to say," Riza cut in. "Don't think for one moment that I blame you." She smiled at him, then looked down at the floor. "I was just trying to figure out how I'd been discovered after all these years in hiding."

"Do you think it could have been any of our guys?" asked Roy. Riza shook her head, and he nodded. "I agree. They'd only talk if they were forced, and I think a lot of them wouldn't even break then. I trust that they kept their mouths shut. If the Fuhrer truly is a Homunculus….who knows how he could have found out? He could have sent out spies…who knows? We haven't the slightest clue of his capabilities…" he sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking, then opened them again and looked over to Riza, who was still staring at the floor sadly. He unfolded his arms, and put a warm hand on her shoulder. "Try not to think about it…okay?" he asked, squeezing her arm softly. She nodded, and smiled at him. He removed his hand from her arm, and took her hand in his. "It seems that I let go of you in my sleep…" he smiled at her, and squeezed her hand gently, as if to assure her that everything was going to be just fine. Then he closed his eyes, and fell asleep again.

Riza took one last look at Roy; smiled, then closed her own eyes, hoping that now she would get at least a little bit of shut-eye.

The train came to a sudden halt, and a whistle blew, signalling the station the train was stopping at. Roy's eyes bolted open, and he turned around suddenly realising that they had to get off the train. He grabbed his bags, and shook Riza hurriedly, who was sound asleep next to him.

"Wha…?" Riza rubbed her eyes, and the flame alchemist groaned, grabbed her bags, then Riza's hand, and pulled her up off of her seat and off of the train. They didn't want to be stuck on it for the night. Roy collapsed on a nearby bench in exhaustion just as the last whistle blew, and the train started up and chortled off.

Riza lay next to Roy, and rubbed her eyes again. "Oh…were we getting off the train?" she sat up, and brushed her hair behind her ears, it has come loose after being hurled off the train in such a hurry. Roy chuckled to himself, and shook his head, still smiling.

"I'll call us a cab to take us to the nearest hotel, wait here…" Roy stood up, and made his way over to a pay phone near the entrance of the station. He punched in some numbers that were on a cab advert on the inside of the phone box, and waited for the person at the other end of the line to pick up.

Riza leant back on the bench sleepily, and continue to rub her eyes to try and keep herself awake. She'd finally managed to fall asleep on the train, but she was still so tired…she couldn't remember much from before she'd fallen asleep…. Wait- she hadn't fallen asleep while Roy was awake, had she? Riza panicked and looked over to Roy hurriedly, who saw her glance his way and smiled at her, then continued to talk on the phone.

She rested her head on the back of the bench, and stared up at the glittering stars in the sky. Her mind was racing, she couldn't seem to concentrate on just one thing, so many things were happening to her so fast, her old boss had turned up in her shop out of the blue, and now the Homunculi were after them…and on top of that, Riza was struggling to come to grips with the feelings in her heart. Roy had only been staying with her for a few days, but she couldn't seem to figure out just how she felt about him. She was so happy to see him, and to find out that he didn't blame her for what happened was the best news she could have ever hoped for. But…how exactly did she feel for him? Deep down in her, a voice told her that she liked him more than just a friend, but she ignored the voice, hoping that it wasn't that way. It couldn't be that way. If she loved Roy…no, it was ridiculous. Besides, if she did love Roy in that way, then it would be one sided. Roy was a total womanizer, he would never think of her in that way. Of course, there was no fraternization rules forbidding them to get together now, but still….she couldn't. Even though there were now rules binding them, it still felt….wrong to Riza. Like it wasn't meant to be. Even if he did want to be with her, they couldn't. With all of what was happening, she doubted if either of them could show their faces again…but, if that was true…then couldn't they start new lives together? Forget their previous lives…? No. What was she thinking? Of course, there was no chance of that ever….

"The sky's full of stars tonight, isn't it?" Riza looked round to see Roy standing by the bench. She smiled as he sat back down next to her.

"The cab will be here in about an hour. That's the earliest they could get here, this place is pretty secluded." Riza nodded, and looked up at the sky again. Roy moved closer to her, and put a warm hand on her leg. "Are you okay? You look troubled?" 

"Oh." Riza turned, and looked at Roy. "It's nothing. Just a bit tired, that's all. And all for this is happening so quickly…huh?" Riza felt a soft hand pull her head over to Roy's shoulder so it was resting on it. He inched his arm slowly around her shoulders so it was resting on her opposite arm. He slowly stroked his hand up it, and through her soft golden silky hair.

"Don't worry yourself over it. For now, you should get yourself some rest. You could use the sleep, I'm sure of it. We've got plenty of time." He turned to look at her, and took her hand in his. She gripped it gently, and nodded. Roy carefully pulled her to a laying down position, and rested her head on his lap, still keeping a hold of her hand, rubbing it gently. Riza smiled serenely, and slowly closed her eyes.

She fell asleep not long after, and Roy remained at her side, keeping her hand in his, and not once did he stop rubbing it. He watched as she lay there silently and peacefully, and begun to think deeply about how much she meant to him.

I love her….I can't help it, I love her. She may feel the same way, or she might not, but either way it doesn't change the fact that I'm in love with her. I can't help my feelings. She's just so damned beautiful…

Roy gently rubbed her warm cheek, and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Yes, he thought. I'm in love with her.

An hour or so later, the cab pulled up outside of the station, and beeped its horn, signalling to Roy that it had arrived. Roy carefully stood up, and looked down at the blonde resting on his lap, who was still sound asleep. He leant down and picked her up from the bench, then carried her out to the cab. When he reached the cab, he motioned to the driver to fetch his bags, and he nodded, and scuttled off to the bench. Roy quietly opened the door of the car, and placed Riza carefully onto the back seat. He smiled, and closed the door quietly.

Yes. I think I love her, he thought to himself. He got inside the cab, and rested his head on the back seat, and closed his eyes slowly.


End file.
